1588

Government Code and Cypher School: Signals Intelligence Passed to the Prime Minister, Messages and Correspondence

Reference

HW 1/1588

Date

10 April 1943

Government Department

Government Code and Cypher School

File Accession Date

1993

Description

A file of signals intelligence reports, messages, and correspondence issued by the Government Code and Cypher School and sent by the head ('C') of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. This file includes the following reports on North Africa: the German Air Force (GAF) at Tunis report a break-through by tanks at Fondouk on April 9; that the Ground Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC in C) of Army Group Africa complains to Kesselring about the lack of fuel, that cut-off elements will be lost and that 3 German divisions are proceeding on foot, on April 7; that the GAF warns of the probability of Allied landings in Tunis, on April 9; and that GAF Tunis are not to employ dive-bombers owing to a shortage of crews and also owing to enemy fighters, on April 9; from the Italian Legation in Kabul, forwarding Afghan information on Soviet morale, on March 29; from the Japanese acting ambassador in Rome, giving an Argentinian's views on the war, as of April 5; from the Spanish ambassador in London, describing a conversation with Churchill, who objects to the closure of the Spanish frontier, on April 8; on Russia: that the Germans have no difficulty in sweeping older-type English mines laid by the Soviet Air Force, on April 7; and a query from the Prime Minister (PM) to the First Sea Lord (1SL) on this; the 1SL's reply to the PM was returned to the 1SL under 2933.